Bahrain’s Investcorp leads $67m investment in India’s Global Dental Services

Bahrain-based Investcorp has announced that it led an investment of INR545 cores (c.$67m)  in Global Dental Services (GDS), Asia’s largest dental chain.

This marks Investcorp’s fourth healthcare investment in India and its first in the dental industry in the country.

The other three healthcare deals in India involve V-Ensure Pharma Technologies, Neprhoplus (a dialysis chain) and ASG Eye Hospitals, where Investcorp recently sold its entire stake to General Atlantic and Kedaara.

Founded in 2011, the GDS Group owns and operates 340 clinics across 24 cities and 12 states in India under the brand ‘Clove Dental’. Supported by 841 dentists (521 of whom hold advanced MDS degrees) each Clove clinic provides a full range of dental treatments in each of its locations. Organised in clusters of 15 to 30 clinics, each cluster has a team of dedicated dental care professionals.

This investment will fund GDS’s expansion strategy which aims to increase its commercial presence while continuing to offer high-quality dental services in existing and adjacent markets as well as grow its hybrid model and products for smile correction.

Gaurav Sharma, head of Private Equity, India at Investcorp, said, “Today, the Indian dental services market is worth $3bn. It is highly fragmented with large hospitals and dental chains accounting for under 10 per cent of all practices, although this number is expected to double in the next five years. Investing in a single specialty segment, within healthcare, aligns well with our thesis of backing scaled and differentiated assets. In India, Clove Dental represents our fourth healthcare deal in the underpenetrated field of dental care that offers an attractive opportunity. With better hygiene and growing awareness about healthcare, patients are increasingly relying on organised chains for professional medical services. We look forward to this partnership and supporting the company in scaling its operations in India.

Amar Singh, CEO of Global Dental Services, said, “This partnership will empower us to prepare to achieve our expansion goals, add latest technological equipment in our clinics, bring professional, ethical, and high-quality dentistry to many more Indian communities. The experienced teams and network of our new partners will enable us to significantly accelerate our growth. I am looking forward to our partnership with Investcorp.”